One Offer, No Discussion

The ultimatum game as a story: one split of 100 pounds, one accept-or-reject, no negotiation.

A Proposer names any split of 100 pounds; the Responder accepts it or rejects, in which case both get nothing. One offer, no counter-offers, no conversation, strangers who play once. The story asks what the Proposer should offer and what the Responder does. You lock in a guess, then step through the answer and breakdown.

Why quant interviews test this

This tests backward induction plus model humility: derive the equilibrium cleanly, then say why observed play differs. The written solution at /brain-teasers/ultimatum/solution lays out both halves.

The One Offer, No Discussion guide covers how scoring works, the strategy that wins, a worked example and the mistakes most players make.

More Brain Teasers games

• Screwy Pirates - Five rational pirates vote on how to split 100 gold coins, and you work out the split by backward induction from a one-pirate crew up.
• Tiger and Sheep - A hundred rational tigers and one sheep on a magic island, where any tiger that eats becomes a sheep itself - solved by induction on parity.
• The Split Deal - The prisoner's dilemma played as a story: two thieves, separate rooms, and one offer each.
• Stag or Hare - The stag hunt as a story: two equilibria, and a choice that comes down to trust.
• The Growing Pot - The centipede game as a story: a pot that doubles on every pass, and logic that says take it immediately.
• Two-Thirds of the Room - The Keynesian beauty contest as a story: pick the number closest to two-thirds of the room's average.
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